


Love in any language

by fifty_fifty



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boys Kissing, Canon Era, Chores, Established Relationship, Feelings, Get on it Merlin fandom, Gift Giving, Love, M/M, Minor Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin), Porn with Feelings, Stables Sex, Yule, apparently that's not a tag yet, stables
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:15:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29570901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fifty_fifty/pseuds/fifty_fifty
Summary: “Are you sure that he really wants a gift?” asked Gwen.“I— Of cour— Who wouldn’t want a nice gift?”Gwen shrugged. “Not everyone measures their worth in expensive gifts. Or in wealth, for that matter.”Arthur frowned as he chewed on his mouthful. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Explain it to me.”--In which, Arthur learns Merlin’s love language.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 251
Collections: Tavernfest Round 2: The Five Love Languages





	Love in any language

**Author's Note:**

> For [Tavern Fest: Round 2 - Love Languages](https://tavernfest.tumblr.com/)
> 
> And huge thanks to [schweet_heart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/schweet_heart/pseuds/schweet_heart) for the beta! ♥

Arthur sat at his desk, watching as Merlin went about the room picking up things here and there and returning them to their rightful place. Arthur was supposed to be reviewing the latest grain store reports and reading their plans for the winter season, but he was finding it difficult to focus on something so dry, even though he knew that it was essential to the well-being of the kingdom.

It had been almost an entire year since last Yule, where he and Merlin had ended up getting rip-roaring drunk and having a tumble in the sheets. The morning after had been less than romantic. Arthur had spent the best part of two weeks avoiding his servant, all the while grappling with thoughts and feelings that confused him, before Merlin had finally cornered him to hash things out once and for all. They’d ended up in bed again, but this time things had continued from there and they’d never stopped.

Arthur still found it difficult to talk about his thoughts and feelings. But that was okay. Merlin understood what he really meant.

As a consequence, Arthur wanted to get Merlin something memorable for Yule this year. Something that showed him just how much Arthur cared about and appreciated him. It was traditional that masters got something for their servants at Yule, and Arthur had completely forgotten last year, so he’d given Merlin an square of one of his old capes to use as one of those stupid neckerchiefs he was so fond of, and a purple shirt that he’d barely ever worn because had always been a bit small on him. Merlin had seemed happy enough with that. But this year Arthur wanted to make him feel special.

But how? He tapped his quill against the parchment as he pondered this. He was always hopeless at gift-giving, despite his best efforts. Maybe it would be better if he asked someone else for help. 

“Are you coming to bed?” asked Merlin, standing in the middle of the room as he tugged off his shirt. “Or are you going to be staring into space all night?”

Arthur grinned and threw down the feather. He didn’t need Merlin to ask him that twice.

***

“What’s wrong, Arthur?” asked Gwen. “You invited me to have lunch with you, but you’ve barely said a word.”

“Sorry.”

Arthur scowled deeply. It was true; he _had_ invited her, and for the past half hour he’d been nothing but poor company. 

He made a point of having lunch with Gwen at least once a month, so that he could get an idea of what was happening within the castle that he was not privy to. Ever since Morgana had left and his father passed, Gwen had been left without purpose. As the sister of a knight, she could have settled down with a small set of chambers in the castle to do as she pleased, but she was not one for sitting around and looking pretty. She liked to have a purpose, and she’d been so good to Morgana, his father, and to Arthur himself that Arthur had asked her to take charge of running the castle, in lieu of him having a spouse himself to oversee the proceedings.

At one point, Arthur had thought he’d had feelings for Gwen—and whilst it was true that she was very lovely and kind and would have made a wonderful Queen, he’d come to realise that the feelings he was having were misplaced. He was glad that they’d been able to remain good friends.

Today, Arthur was still grappling with the idea of what to get Merlin for Yule. What gift could he get a man who didn’t really seem to care for expensive possessions?

“Are you having difficulty making a decision?” Gwen asked helpfully.

“In a way,” Arthur hummed.

“Tell me about it,” she said, picking at her food. 

Arthur sat back in his chair with a sigh. “It’s about Merlin.”

Gwen gave him an amused smile.

“Hey!” chided Arthur. “You wanted to know.”

She reached out and patted his hand. “I do. Continue.”

Arthur grabbed his fork and stabbed it into a piece of chicken. “It’s the anniversary of his birth on Yule, and it’s tradition to get a gift for your servants, but I want to give him something special. I want to show him how much I appreciate him.”

Gwen looked into the distance thoughtfully, rubbing her belly. The absentminded gesture reminded Arthur that it wouldn’t be too much longer before he would have to look for someone else to manage the castle household staff. Lancelot would not likely let Gwen continue to work such long hours now that they had a babe on the way. At least he would still be able to rely on her to be a friend.

Drawn back from her daydream, she looked at him and tilted her head. 

“Are you sure that he really wants a gift?” she asked.

“I— Of cour— Who wouldn’t want a nice gift?”

Gwen shrugged. “Not everyone measures their worth in expensive gifts. Or in wealth, for that matter.”

Arthur frowned as he chewed on his mouthful. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Explain it to me.”

“Different people like to have their value appreciated in different ways. Not everyone wants money or possessions. Some people like to be praised for their work, or for people to appreciate the person they are. Some people use physical touch to express their feelings,” she looked at him pointedly, “and others prefer things like spending time with those they care about, or being the one who’s taken care of.”

Doing his best to ignore Gwen’s silent accusation, Arthur drummed his fingers on the table. He couldn't help but think that maybe she had a point. Merlin did not appear to care for personal possessions; his sparse room in Gaius’ chambers was a clear illustration of that. And he’d never so much as mentioned a raise or any monetary issues to Arthur. In fact, Arthur knew full well that Merlin paid a young lad down in the lower town to take money to his mother in Ealdor. 

Merlin never acted as though he was lacking for _anything_. And that, right there, was Arthur’s problem. He’d have to open his eyes and ears to try and see what it was that Merlin might really appreciate, beyond physical items.

***

Arthur continued brooding over his problem for the next few days, aware that Yule was drawing ever closer. He sat at the dining table in his room with parchment and quill, his eyes following Merlin as he flitted around the room. Why was this so difficult? He and Merlin were together now. Arthur shouldn’t find him such a mystery. The fact that he was marked a huge failure on his behalf, and Arthur was determined to rectify it. 

In order to do so, Arthur had a plan. He was going to spend the next week observing everything that Merlin did in order to fathom him out, starting tonight. He dipped his quill in the inkwell and started to write:

‘Tidying chambers  
Sorting laundry  
Repairing armour’

There. His list was started. 

He carried on observing Merlin as he stoked the fire and added a few logs. Then he picked up Arthur’s training sword and fetched a whetting stone. He placed the tip of the blade on the table and started to sharpen it. Arthur let his chin rest in his palm as he watched the rhythmic movements of Merlin’s hands, the gesture soothing and hypnotic. If only he could read minds. Then he’d be able to figure out exactly what Merlin wanted.

It would be easy just to ask. But that would be admitting defeat, and Arthur refused to do that. Especially when it was something that _he should know_.

After many minutes of sharpening Arthur’s sword, Merlin held it to the light of the fire and was apparently satisfied.

“I can take that,” said Arthur, standing and offering to take it from him.

Merlin looked at him with surprise, but passed it over. As Arthur took the sword and put it back in his sheath on the side board, he was hit with a sudden realisation. Merlin had been shocked that he’d offered to help, obviously not expecting it. 

Interesting.

***

The rest of Arthur’s week was consumed with his observations of Merlin, and he found himself sneaking around his own castle to do it.

Unfortunately, being the king of Camelot and being stealthy were not as compatible as he had thought, as he’d been spotted and intercepted several times. 

First of all, by Sir Leon, who had pulled him aside to discuss the training schedules for the newest knights. 

The next day, it was Lancelot’s turn. He spotted Arthur as he was hiding in the stables, watching Merlin muck out the stalls and groom his horses. Lancelot had wanted to talk to Arthur about convincing Gwen to reduce her duties in the castle, and to assign her a replacement. 

Later that same day, Gwaine ambushed him whilst he was spying on Merlin as he worked in the laundry, trying to persuade Arthur to come to the tavern that night with the rest of the knights.

He didn’t seem to be finding out much new information about Merlin that he didn’t already know. Logically, Arthur knew that he assigned Merlin a lot of work to ensure that he was kept busy and out of mischief. But until he had spent several days shadowing him, Arthur hadn’t realised just how much work Merlin actually did. Because it wasn’t just the chores that Arthur gave him that Merlin carried out: he also carried out duties for Gaius, making and distributing medicines around the town and visiting people who were sick. He was also apparently helping Gwen with her duties alongside his own. And then, at the end of it all, he still had the energy to come back to Arthur’s chambers and spend time with him. 

Though given Merlin’s enthusiasm in that department, Arthur doubted that Merlin would count their activities as a chore.

His realisation made Arthur feel exceedingly guilty. So he decided to hatch a plan to ease Merlin’s burdens, especially now that he planned to have Merlin by his side more than ever. 

With Yule only a few days away, Arthur needed to act fast. First things first: he would recruit Gwen’s replacement in the guise of an assistant. He was aware that Gwen wouldn’t take well to finding out that Arthur was trying to replace her, but it needed to be done. Sooner rather than later. Next, he would talk with Gaius about how they could ease Merlin’s duties there— perhaps Arthur could pay for an errand boy. And third on his list was to arrange a day for Merlin completely free from duties. 

In the meantime, Arthur would clear as much of his own schedule as he could and take on some of Merlin’s chores before Merlin could even get to them himself.

***

Arthur wiped beads of sweat from his forehead with this sleeve of his undershirt, his jacket long since abandoned. As much as Arthur loved the stables, he had forgotten just how much work it was to muck out three horses every few days. It was not for the work-shy, that’s for sure.

He had mucked out his fair share of horses in his time. It had been a regular duty back when he was barely out of childhood as a part of his knight’s training. It was a rite of passage for all Camelot squires to knock some of the airs and graces out of them, and it worked. So many of them—Arthur included—were dismayed to learn that they would have to work alongside the stablehands, having never had to do so much as pick up after themselves before. The commoner stable lads always got no end of joy laughing over some of their ridiculous attempts, before the squires would humble themselves enough to ask for help or guidance. Arthur found himself smiling at the memory.

He glanced out of the door and saw that the sun was starting to rise higher in the sky. He needed to pick up the pace if he wanted to be done before Merlin got here. He re-doubled his efforts, and once he was done, Arthur grabbed his jacket and headed out to the largest pump on the far side of the castle to clean off, grinning as he imagined Merlin’s surprise to find that the stables had been mucked out for him.

Later, Arthur skipped out on a council meeting, asking Geoffrey to lead in his absence so that he could gather the mountain of dirty clothing in his room and head down to the laundry.

The laundry maids tittered at his sudden appearance and whispered behind his back as he put the clothes down on one of the vacant stools and went to fetch water, both hot and cold, to fill his wash tub.

“Can I help any of you ladies?” he asked, hoping to quash their gossiping.

Once he had helped several maids—who had taken much delight in the offer of help from the king himself—to empty and refill their tubs with fresh water, he finally sat down himself, wondering just exactly how one got clothes clean. The water part was a given. But once you’d got them in, what the hell did you do then?

He glanced around, trying to observe what the women around him were doing as he dumped his pile of laundry unceremoniously into the water.

He swished his hands around in the water, agitating the clothing. The water was almost scalding to the touch, but he started to squeeze them in earnest. If he squeezed the water out, then soaked it again, that should do the trick, shouldn’t it?

“Oh, you poor dear,” said Bessie, an old maid who had worked at the castle for as long as Arthur could remember.

She pulled up a stool beside him and added a powder to the water.

“Soapwort,” she told him. “You won’t get those clothes cleaned without it.” She sprinkled something else into the water from another jar and winked at him. “And a few other things that will have your clothing looking like new. My secret recipe, sire. But since you’re the king, if you ask nicely I’ll give it to you. Like that manservant of yours. Such lovely manners!”

The rest of the women expressed their agreement, a few of the younger ones blushing and giggling.

Arthur rolled his eyes and huffed under his breath. Of course Merlin had charmed the laundry maids into helping him. He charmed everyone he met. 

“Now,” announced Betty. “Get that stick there and knead the clothes.”

Arthur frowned, but complied, surprised at how a small amount of suds started to foam in the water and how he could see water starting to change from clear to dirty.

“That’s it. Very good, sire. Are you sure you haven’t done this before? Now you need to wring as much water out of the clothes as you can—shouldn’t be much of a challenge for some as strong as you, sire—and get yourself a fresh tub. Then rinse them all, and wring them out again. After that hang them out to dry near the fire and you’ll be done. Now, if that’s all my lord, I need to get those dresses over there to my lady.” 

Glancing over to the corner, Arthur saw two beautifully laundered dresses hanging, ready to go.

He nodded at Bessie. “Yes, thank you.”

And then he turned his attention back to the task in hand.

***

The next thing on his list was walking Cafall. This was a task that Arthur used to enjoy doing himself, back when he was Crown Prince, but as his duties increased and his time waned, the duty of exercising his dog had fallen to Merlin. Arthur wasn’t sure that Merlin minded this chore particularly. He loved going for walks through the woods and often combined walking Cafall with collecting herbs when the weather was good. Arthur was glad for it. After Merlin’s disappearance a few years ago, Arthur worried every time his hapless manservant ventured out on his own. Knowing that Cafall was not far from Merlin’s side gave Arthur peace of mind.

He made his way to the kennels, which were not far from Camelot’s stables, and put his fingers to his mouth to whistle for his dog. Cafall came racing out and bounded over to him so quickly he knocked Arthur off his feet, standing atop him and to lick every accessible inch of his face.

“Hey, boy.” Arthur laughed, feeling a pang of guilt. He needed to come and see Cafall more often; it was obvious he had been missed. “Hey, hey, come on. Let me go.”

He chuckled as he shoved the large dog off of him, and as he got to his feet he realised that it would have been a wiser move to have done the laundry _after_ the walk.

Brushing off the worst of the mud from his breeches, Arthur grabbed a stick and held it high before throwing it, sending Cafall running as they headed towards the woods.

***

After the walk, Arthur returned to his chambers. He groaned as he opened the doors and saw all the things he and Merlin had carelessly discarded that morning before the start of their days. The last thing he was in the mood for was tidying after working himself to the bone to do Merlin’s chores. But he never let Merlin off the hook. It had never occurred to him before that Merlin might be tired by the time he arrived in the evenings. Sometimes, he seemed slower and he moaned about it, but he still did it. As he started to pick up clothing from the floor, Arthur vowed to have much more consideration for Merlin in future.

He was almost finished tidying when the doors burst open. 

“You know what?” began Merlin, as he turned to close the door with his foot, his hands otherwise engaged with a tray of food and a jug of wine. “The strangest things have been happening today! I went to the stables to muck out the horses and it was already done. I mean, I had to tidy it up a bit, but the worst of it was done. Then I went to the laundry to see if I could find that pile of clothes I misplaced and they were hanging up drying by the fire! So I went to see if Cafall—”

Arthur took the jug of wine from his hand and gave him a long, slow kiss. He reached out and steadied the tray that was tipping perilously with Merlin’s surprise. Then Arthur pulled away and took both tray and jug to the table. He pulled out the chair Merlin usually sat at and gestured for him to sit.

Merlin looked at him with wry amusement, but nonetheless took a seat.

“Wine?” Arthur asked, picking up the jug. 

“Arthur… are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Of course,” said Arthur, not waiting for Merlin’s response before he poured from the jug into his goblet.

“Have you tidied up?” Merlin asked as he looked around the room.

Putting down the wine, Arthur seated himself and shrugged. He instinctively went to help himself to food from the tray, forgetting for a moment that he meant to let Merlin have the first serving. 

He pushed the tray towards Merlin. “Help yourself,” Arthur said, busying himself with pouring his own wine.

“Arthur, are you sure? You’re acting very strangely. Maybe I should examine you—”

“Merlin,” began Arthur, through gritted teeth. “Can’t you just… accept me being nice?”

Merlin narrowed his eyes at him. “Oh, now I’m really concerned,” he said, with a teasing lilt to his voice.

“Just shut up and eat your dinner,” Arthur groused as he started to help himself, the nicety of his gesture lost to the moment.

He stared at his plate as he ate, until he felt Merlin’s foot nudge him in the shin from underneath the table.

Arthur glanced up. 

“Arthur, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have acted like that. Thank you, I— I appreciate it,” Merlin said, his cheeks dimpling with a smile. “It was very— sweet.”

Merlin’s smile and gratitude warmed Arthur’s heart, and he couldn’t help but smile too as they both started to eat.

“So, as I was saying before,” Merlin resumed as he chewed on a piece of bread. “The whole of today, wherever I went, I turned up to find that my chores had already been done! I’m not sure why. It’s not like I was out of the castle for long. Sometimes, people do a bit here and there to help out, when they know I’m running late—we all help each other out—but I wasn’t today. That’s the thing that’s puzzling me.”

“I’d have thought you’d be grateful not to have to do any chores,” Arthur commented neutrally, trying to get a feel for how Merlin had reacted to his efforts without tipping his hand.

“I am,” said Merlin, swiping his bread through the gravy on his plate. “It was nice not to have to muck out the horses or get elbow-deep in your laundry. I just wish I knew who it was so that I could thank them.”

Arthur hurried to shove some food into his mouth to stop himself from smiling too wide and resolved to intensify his efforts the next day, just in time for Yuletide Eve.

***

Arthur hastened to move quicker, even though his muscles were aching and his arms did not want to lift another thing. At least he wasn’t cold anymore. His exersions had seen to that. But he wasn’t a knight of Camelot for nothing; he carried on. He fully intended on keeping ahead of Merlin to keep the surprise of a second day free from chores, and he needed to hurry if he was going to get this finished without getting caught. 

He was torn as to whether he was going to confess to Merlin about being his mystery helper or not. On the one hand, he would get the glory and praise from Merlin, and Merlin would know that he had truly put thought and effort into his Yule gift. But on the other hand, this was _supposed_ to be a selfless act of appreciation. Would it still count if Arthur got something from it?

He’d just have keep going and avoid detection until he had finished grappling with the question.

Behind him, someone cleared their throat, and Arthur froze mid-shovelling, hoping that it was merely a stable lad who had the gall to cheek his king.

It wasn’t, of course. It was, however, someone else who had no qualms whatsoever when it came to sassing his king.

“At last. Caught you,” said Merlin with a wide grin. The kind of grin that lit up his whole face, making his cheeks dimple and the corners of his eyes crease with merriment.

Arthur scowled, feeling awkward and caught off-guard.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said gruffly, as he continued to shovel. Just one more and he’d be done.

“You’re mucking out my horse,” Merlin pointed out. “And you’ve done your horses too.”

“Felt like it,” said Arthur, scooping up the last of hay and depositing it in a wheelbarrow. “Figured I might as well do your horse since I was here.”

“And the laundry? Cafall? Gaius’ medicine delivery? Tidying your room? Sharpening your sword and mending your chainmail?”

“Well, you always make a mess of that,” said Arthur, hoping to provoke an indignant response from Merlin which would change the course of the conversation.

Merlin’s face fell for a moment, almost forming a scowl before he laughed. “Are you embarrassed to admit you’ve been helping me?”

“No,” said Arthur brusquely.

He pushed his shovel into the manure and started wheeling it out to the yard, where a stablehand rushed up to take it from him.

“Come here,” said Merlin, beckoning him out of the cold and back into the warmth of an empty stall. “I just wanted to say thank you for doing my chores for me.”

“Merlin—” 

“You don’t need to be embarrassed. It’s just between us, yeah? So, thank you. I just wanted to know _why_ you did it.”

Arthur took a deep breath. “Look, I just wanted to… I don’t know… I just wanted to let you know that I... appreciate... all the things that you do for me.”

Merlin looked at him, confused. “You could have just given me less chores in the first place,” he pointed out.

“Of course I could have. But that wasn’t the point. I wanted to show you somehow that… Look, it’s silly. I don’t even know why I did it. Can we just forget about it and go back to the castle?”

“It’s not silly. You’ve been doing this for a couple of days. So, talk to me,” said Merlin encouragingly.

Arthur gathered up all his courage. How come it was so easy to run into battle, even knowing he was risking his very life, but talking about his feelings was so difficult?

“Okay. Look, it’s just that a few weeks ago I was talking with Gwen. I wanted her advice about what to get you so that I could express how I… _feel_ about you for Yule. I know I messed up last year, so I wanted to make it up to you. And she said that maybe you might not be interested in a gift. So I thought maybe instead of giving you a present, I could just do something… nice for you. Like doing your chores.”

Merlin surged forward and gave him a bruising kiss.

When he pulled away, Arthur added. “I was going to give you the day off too.”

“That’s generous,” said Merlin, crowding Arthur up against the side of the stall and kissing his neck. “Anything else on offer?”

“Why don’t you find out?” said Arthur, running his hands down Merlin’s sides.

“Lazy,” said Merlin with a laugh, as he slid his hand under the waist of Arthur’s breeches to cup his arse and pull him close. “You just want me to do all the work.”

“I just did all your chores!”

“Only for two days!”

“Still.” 

Merlin smiled against his skin, and Arthur closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of having Merlin so close. So warm and solid. Merlin pushed his leg between Arthur’s and slowly ground himself against Arthur’s hip, and Arthur chuckled.

He might be the one who preferred to communicate through touches, looks and actions, but Merlin certainly wasn’t shy about conveying his own needs and feelings in the same way.

Their mouths met in a clash of lips and teeth, before they fit together in a sweet and eager kiss, their tongues dancing. Arthur pushed his hands under Merlin’s shirt, sliding along flesh, warm and soft in a gentle caress. Merlin shivered as Arthur moved his hand smoothly over Merlin’s belly and along his chest, pausing to rub a thumb over a peaked nipple, eliciting a soft gasp. Arthur smiled into their kiss. Merlin was always sensitive there. With scrambling hands, Merlin started to tug at Arthur’s buckle. In a matter of moments, Arthur’s sword and belt fell into the hay with a thud. 

This wasn’t exactly how Arthur had planned things. He’d planned on taking Merlin back to his chambers to spoil him with a night off; candles, a bath, good food and wine, and then seducing him into his bed. But this was even better, because this was what Merlin wanted. 

Merlin crowded into his space, until Arthur felt himself falling onto his back, Merlin grinned at him as he pressed him into the pile of hay, straddling him. His eager fingers made quick work of his and Arthur’s laces, being, as they were, well-practiced, and he ground himself against Arthur, who let out a groan, his cock filling at the glorious friction.

“Eager,” Arthur laughed, unable to resist pulling Merlin down into another kiss, biting softly at his lips. Merlin nipped back, before parting Arthur’s lips and licking into his mouth, dirty and rough. 

When they parted, Merlin said breathless and with a thrust of his hips, “I don’t see you complaining about it.”

He sat back and tugged Arthur’s breeches down, working his hand inside to free his cock. 

Arthur was about to issue a retort when he was cut short by Merlin giving a particularly clever twist of his hand as he worked it along his cock. Merlin ground himself against Arthur’s thigh until Arthur could bear it no longer, he needed more. He tumbled them over with a growl, and grinned down at Merlin, triumphant, before he took his turn to loosen Merlin’s breeches, yanking them down his hips. Merlin’s cock sprung free and immediately Arthur licked at the head, flicking his tongue out against the slit, tasting Merlin salty on his tongue. He mouthed his way along the length of it, knowing exactly how much Merlin enjoyed the tease of something more.

Merlin bit off a whimper, before he started to gasp out quiet praises that did strange things to Arthur’s gut, and made his heart swell as his lips continued to caress Merlin’s cock. It spurred him on, keen to please Merlin further.

“Gods, Arthur, that’s it. Yeah...” Merlin whispered. “What do you want us to do?”

Arthur smirked at him as he shuffled backwards in the hay, the clean fresh scent heady in the warmth of the stables, moving himself into a more comfortable position. 

Merlin lifted his head, propping himself up on his elbows, and his eyes went wide as Arthur unceremoniously took him in his mouth, his lips stretched around Merlin’s cock. “Oh, I see,” Merlin said breathlessly. 

Arthur let Merlin slide his fingers into his hair and guide his pace as he started to suck him off, and Merlin sighed contentedly as he rubbed a thumb along Arthur’s jaw. 

“Yeah, so good, Arthur,” he groaned, drawing out his name as Arthur took him deeper. Merlin smoothed the hair back from his forehead with his thumb, and Arthur looked up at him. As their eyes met, Arthur’s stomach did a flip.

He pulled off with a wet pop, letting his fingers stroke lightly along the inside of Merlin’s thighs. Merlin watched him, his eyes dark and chest heaving, his breath coming in little pants. 

“What do _you_ want?” he asked Merlin, as he peppered tiny kisses near Merlin’s knee.

Merlin parted his legs wider, and cocked his head encouragingly. Arthur raised an eyebrow suggestively as he pushed two fingers into his mouth, fellating on them slowly to ensure that they were good and wet. When he was ready, Arthur slid his hand down between Merlin’s thighs and circled his hole. He wrapped his fingers around Merlin’s cock and Merlin’s head fell back as he pushed up into Arthur’s hand, bucking his hips impatiently.

“Arthur,” he whined. Arthur laughed and dipped his head to lick a broad swipe along Merlin’s straining length. “Fuck, Arthur. Come on! Do it already.”

He smiled again, enjoying the tease as he pressed butterfly kisses to Merlin’s inner thigh, so light his lips barely brushed Merlin’s skin; nonetheless, Merlin’s muscles twitched and jumped.

“Please, Arthur— Please!”

Merlin gasped as Arthur took his cock in his mouth again and sucked, hard, his fingers pushing into Merlin’s hole. Merlin’s hand clamped tight on his shoulder as his mouth opened and he blinked rapidly, his body adjusting to the sensation.

It didn’t last long. A few bobs of his head and Merlin came, his magic tingling across Arthur’s skin and down his spine, completely unlike anything else Arthur had ever felt before Merlin. 

Arthur swallowed every last drop before licking Merlin’s spent, over-sensitive cock clean, Merlin chuckled at every remaining twitch until finally he pushed Arthur away. Arthur smiled, mouthing softly at Merlin’s groin as he caught his breath, with Merlin’s shaky fingers combing through his hair.

“Come on,” he said, pulling Merlin up to sitting with him and kissing his hand. “Let’s continue this in my chambers.”


End file.
